


Call Me Sophia

by Sydney (sydneyp)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-31
Updated: 2013-01-31
Packaged: 2017-11-27 15:23:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/663541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sydneyp/pseuds/Sydney
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin and Morgana live a comfortable, yet unorthodox lifestyle. Morgana, a high class escort, receives word from her brother that her father is dying, and he insists that she come home for the holidays. Morgana attempts to make amends with her father; meanwhile, the flat mates are snowed in the Pendragon's mansion, and Merlin becomes acquainted with his best friend's brother, Arthur.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Call Me Sophia

 

 

Sunlight leaked from in between the blinds of Merlin’s bedroom window. He stretched his limbs, groaned, and relaxed. He suddenly noticed the smell of coffee in the air and raised an eyebrow. Morgana wasn’t normally awake before he was. Merlin lazily sauntered out of bed, and peaked outside of his room to see Morgana mucking around the kitchen wearing only an unrecognizable over-sized oxford.

“Good morning, Merlin.”   
“What are you doing awake so early?”    
Morgana smirked, pouring herself a cup of coffee and drinking it black. Merlin always admired how she appreciated a natural brew. He couldn’t help but douse his beverages in milk.   
“I had to escort my guest out of the flat so I wouldn’t disturb my roommate.”   
“Morgana, you didn’t have to do that.”    
“Don’t be silly. I’m only being polite.” She offered him a mug.   
“Hardly. Who was it?”    
“Marcus.”   
“What a douche,” Merlin took a sip of his coffee, and then grimaced. He forgot to pour the milk.  
“He is a bit of a twat, but I have four hundred pounds with our rent’s name on it. You’re welcome.”  
“Four hundred pounds? What sort of sex do you have anyway?”  
“The paying kind,” Morgana said with a devilish grin, tossing Merlin a thick envelope. He caught it, and proceeded to investigate the money.

It wasn’t Merlin’s first choice for his best friend to be an escort, but she seemed content, so who was he to argue? Few people get to have the job they love, so he felt he should support her. Merlin and Morgana’s story began when Merlin was younger, all knees and elbows, as awkward as can be, and trying desperately to deny his sexuality. He’d contacted “Sophia” in hope of erasing any homosexual tendencies.

~

When asked about his preferences over email, he wasn’t sure what to say, so he decided to go with regular every day girl. Jeans, tshirt, little to no makeup. He didn’t exactly have any female friends interested in a random shag, and he was much too awkward to charm a perfect stranger. So if he had to pay for a normal girl to affirm his sexuality, he would do it. But when he saw Sophia for the first time, he knew that she was no every day girl, besides the obvious. Her beauty was simple and stunning, and her smile was welcoming.  
“Come in, make yourself at home.”  
“You’re Sophia?”  
“Yes, and you’re Merlin. Do you have the erm…” The girl paused, looking at him expectantly. Merlin stared at her blankly. “…Oh! Yes, of course.” He handed her an envelope.  
“Thanks. I’ll just be a moment. Do you want anything to drink?”  
“Um, yes, that would be lovely”

Sophia came back out with two glasses of wine, and a beautiful smile. The denim she wore hung nicely just below her hips, and she wore a slightly big plain white tshirt that hung lax on her small frame. She sauntered towards Merlin, who looked very out of place. She sat down beside him on the couch. He took the glass, taking a larger gulp of the alcohol than he meant to.  
“Are you nervous?” She asked, genuine interest in her eyes. She put her hand on his leg and stroked it gently.  
Merlin watched her hand with a careful eye. “Erm, just a bit, actually.”  
“You don’t need to be nervous. I'm here to spend time with you.”  
Merlin smiled and looked down, taking a sip of his wine. “I know. It’s just that it’s been awhile…”  
  
“Here, I have an idea,” she offered, taking his wine glass and setting it on the table, “Sit in front of me here, on the floor, facing that way.” Merlin did as he was told, unsure of what she had in mind. He then felt her gentle hands on either side of him lifting his shirt over his head. Then he heard the familiar snap of the cap of a bottle of lotion, and then a blissful pressure in the muscles below his neck and beside his shoulders.  
“Oh, bless it... that feels amazing.”  
Sophia smiled, kissing the nape of his neck while she massaged him. Her hands worked magic from his neck all the way down either side of his spine. 

Merlin was alerted out of his trance when he felt her hands roaming elsewhere, “Let’s go in here,” she said taking his hand and leading him to her bedroom. His heart rate increased, panicking internally. He lay on his back, watching her take off her jeans and her underwear. She climbed into bed, straddling him, taking off her shirt, revealing the first pair of breats Merlin had ever seen in person.  
Sophia studied him closely, “Is… is this your first time?”  
Merlin grinned, “Is it that obvious?”  
She smiled understandingly, leaning over to kiss him gently. Merlin paused, drinking in the unfamiliar moment, then began to kiss her back. This was the first time he’d kissed a woman in years, and the last time was his first when he was just a boy. She further kissed his jawline, down to his neck and his chest, and then began to unbuckle his belt.  
“Oh I, erm-“  
“What’s wrong?”  
“N-nothing. Nothing.”

Sophia continued undressing him, making Merlin appear more and more uncomfortable. After working on pleasuring him for what seemed like forever, Merlin sighed in defeat, putting his hands on his face, “No. No, I’m sorry but I can’t.” He sat up in bed, completely humiliated. Sophia got off of him, sitting beside him on the bed. “What is it?”  
Merlin looked at Sophia with sad and defeated dusty blue eyes. He suddenly felt as if he were about to cry.  
“Hey, hey it’s okay. Stage fright is normal, and not everyone is into the whole prostitute thi-“  
“No,” Merlin insisted, “No it’s not you at all. No, you’re lovely. It’s just that…”  
She studied his face for awhile, until realization dawned on her, “Hold on, are you gay?”  
He didn’t answer. He only looked at her, completely embarrassed with himself. She really was exquisite; a perfect dream in real life with eyes like peridot, and long chocolate brown hair cascading down her porcelain shoulders. Any heterosexual male would have been more than ready to make love to this woman long before she ever got to their belt.  
“This is truly embarrassing.”  
“Don’t be embarrassed. It's nothing to be ashamed of.”  
“I feel so awful. You deserve so much better.”  
She smiled at Merlin, running her fingers through his disheveled head of hair. “You forget that this is my job. I deserve exactly what I get. Even adorable homosexual men with cheekbones the size of apples.”  
He couldn’t help but laugh.

They continued friendly conversation until it dawned on Merlin that he most likely didn’t know this woman’s real name.  
“Sophia.”  
“Mm?”  
“What’s your name?”  
She paused, her smile fading a bit. “I don’t normally share personal information with clients.”  
“But I’m not much of a client, am I?”  
She snickered, “It’s Morgana.”  
“What a brilliant name. Morgana, will you have lunch with me?”  
She was taken aback by this request. She wasn’t entirely sure how to respond.  
“Oh come on, I’m not much of a shag, the least I could do is buy you lunch.”  
“I erm… well I guess I don’t see why not.”   
And the rest was history. After about a year of developing a close friendship, they moved in together and have lived in harmony ever since.

~

“You realize what day is a week from now, right?” Merlin asked, counting the cash in Morgana’s envelope from Marcus.  
“Erm… seven days in advance?”  
 “Christmas, Morgana.”  
 “Oh.”  She seemed to ignore his conversational advances. She knew where it was going, and she didn’t plan on coming along.    
“Interesting. My dearest friend for roughly five years, my roommate for four, and I have never met your family.”   
Morgana sighed, closing her eyes, and wishing that Merlin would, for once, leave her personal life behind as she had been trying to.  “You know of my family, Merlin. And no, I don’t plan on spending Christmas with them. Why can’t I just spend Christmas with you and forget about them like we always have?”   
Merlin’s eyes softened, and his mouth developed a disappointed curl. Morgana searched his eyes, and then it dawned on her the motive behind this difficult subject. “Hunith is coming here for Christmas.”   
“It’s only for a couple of days, Morgana.”    
“It’s okay, I’ll find somewhere else to stay.”   
“No, you shouldn’t have to do that. I can sleep on the couch.”   
“I wouldn’t make you sleep on the couch in your own flat.”    
” _Our_ flat,” he insisted, “She’s my mother, Morgana. And she loves your company. She has only lovely things to say about you.”   
“Would she still have only lovely things to say about me if she knew how I paid the bills?”  
“Hey, don’t be like that. Job or no job, you’re still you, and she really likes you.” Morgana looked elsewhere from Merlin’s gaze. She couldn’t help but feel vulnerable around his piercing stare, or the company of his mother. She was always so kind to her and expected nothing in return. “If you insist. But really, I can find somewhere else to stay.”   
“Nonsense.”  

Her expression softened, “Very well, then. I’m going to go shower.” She kissed his cheek and walked away. As soon as Merlin heard water running, he sat down on the couch and turned on the television. After a few minutes, Morgana’s mobile began to vibrate on the table.

Merlin knew exactly who it was, but wasn’t sure whether to answer it or ignore it. He studied his photo under his caller ID. He’d seen several photos of Morgana’s brother before, but never any with facial hair. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or not. And then he realized if he didn’t pick up, the phone call would go to voice mail.

“Hello?”  
“Erm… Morgana?”  
 _Surely his voice wasn’t in any way similar? Idiot._ “It's Merlin.”  
“Ah yes, Merlin. Do you happen to know where my sister is?”  
“She’s bathing. I’m sure she’ll speak with you when she is finished. I’ll tell her you-“  
“No wait. She hasn’t answered her calls, and I don’t reckon she’ll start.”  
“Okay…”  
“It’s probably better I speak with you. I’ve been trying to contact her. My father has been trying to get her and me to visit him for Christmas. We haven’t had Christmas as a family in years, and my father isn’t getting any younger.”  
The concern in his voice was genuine, and Merlin thought it best to pay closer attention. “I actually spoke with her of it this morning. She seemed pretty adamant on staying here.”  
There was a long pause on the other end. “Our father is very sick. Nothing contagious, but it’s not looking bright, and he wants to be with his children. Please, Merlin, try and convince her.”

“Merlin, what are you doing?”  
Merlin jumped in his seat, turning around to see Morgana wrapped in a towel, her hair wrapped in another.  
“Is that her, Merlin? May I speak with-” Morgana took the mobile from Merlin and turned away.  
  
“Hello? … Arthur I-  
Fine …  
Well what’s wrong with him?”  
  
The silence was deafening. Merlin listened closely for Arthur’s faint voice, but couldn’t make out anything intelligible.  
  
“When should I be there?  
Okay.  
I um… I l-love you, too.”

She set the mobile down on the kitchen counter and walked into her bedroom. Merlin wasn’t sure whether to leave her alone or to follow her and ask if there was anything he could do. He thought he should at least give her time to put on undergarments.

“May I come in?” he said, pushing aside the door and peeking inside Morgana’s bedroom. Her room was the direct opposite of his. Clothes were everywhere except where they were supposed to be and the air was thick with the fragrance of various women’s body products. Morgana lay on her bed limply as if she suddenly had nothing left to live for, still loosely wrapped in a towel. She didn’t bother responding. She knew he’d come in anyway. Merlin climbed in bed with her, sitting up a bit so he could slightly push aside her damp towel and stroke her back gently. The muscles in her back were tense, and her silence was disturbing. After what seemed like an eternity of worry, Morgana’s sniffle sliced though the silent air.  
“Merlin?”  
“Mm?”  
“Hold me. Please.”

As if he’d been waiting for the signal forever, he wrapped his arms around his dearest friend while she cried softly on his chest. He wasn’t entirely sure what the matter was. All he knew was that he was there for Morgana, and that he always would be.


End file.
